Everything Must Go

The Chicago Design Museum put together an event on hand-painted signage and invited a mix of designers and artists to contribute pieces. After wavering on following the rules of producing a produce-inspired piece I was inspired by Steve Juras to follow my true feelings. I had been obsessing over some local seemingly existential hand-painted lettering in the window of a furniture shop that seemed to be permanently going out of business. The artist had carefully lettered "EVERY THING MUST GO" in gigantic script. This notion of 'out with the old and in with the new' really struck a cord. My process included some basic type-setting of House Industries 'Sign Painter' typeface followed by some digital manipulation, physical manipulation, and physical transfer to actual neon poster paper that's usually used for science boards in middle schools. This hybrid of process' pays attention to the evolution of sign painting. On a scouting run of shooting photos of signs we found to be utterly beautiful we also found countless computer-generated imitation signs that were done to cut costs and turnaround time of signs. Is sign painting a dying art? It seems to be under the classic scrutiny of value and this piece seeks to examine that in its layering of narrative.

The original

Paper evaluation comps

People looking at Luke Williams' and Alison Yard Medland's posters next to mine opening night.